Both congressional and state legislative maps were passed on May 25, 2001.

Public Access

Legislative
committees will hold public hearings before receiving the census data.
Maps of the new state House districts are available for the
online, and the Senate has its own redistricting page.

Who’s in Charge of Redistricting?

The
legislature is responsible for both plans. If the Oklahoma Legislature
fails to redistrict its state legislative districts, statute requires
the attorney general, state treasurer and superintendent of public
instruction to form an apportionment board to complete the task. The
governor has veto power over both plans.

Political Landscape

The
1991 redistricting plan was passed by a nearly unanimous vote in what
was recognized as a bipartisan plan to protect congressional
incumbents. Nevertheless, Democrats lost all four of their U.S. House
seats by 1996, and all current congressional districts tilt either
slightly or strongly to Republicans.

The state will
lose a congressional seat in 2001. Since Democrats won a seat in
November 2000, they will likely seek to shore up their incumbent
in 2001. The legislature remains strongly Democratic, but is more
conservative than most federal Democrats. The governor is Republican.

Irregularly Shaped DistrictDistrict 2

· Northeast; foothills of the Ozarks; poor and rural

· Traditionally Democratic, but now swing district which Republicans can win due in part to influence of Christian conservatives

· 77% white; 5% black; 17% Native American; 1% Hispanic

Irregularly Shaped DistrictDistrict 5

· North Central—part of Oklahoma City

· The most Republican district in the state, although a plurality of voters are registered Democrats